Interweave Knits Spring 2016: A Review

The Spring 2016 issue of Interweave Knits is out! Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Nash Island Shawl. A lovely piece of work.

Krokos Shawl. Another nice shawl, this time with a geometric eyelet pattern.

Catskill Pullover. Very much like this one, with its smart herringbone texture and good lines. I might raise that slightly dropped shoulder just a titch.

Hampshire Shawl. A nice-looking piece. Though I will have you know that this is not what farmgirls wear when they slop the hogs.

Blue Ridge Sweater. I like this one. There's something quite pleasing about how the lace and bobble pattern is shaped into a simple ballet neckline.

Yorkshire Capelet. Not a bad piece, though it doesn't seem to belong on this particular outfit.

Phi Cowl. The other day on Twitter, a knitwear designing friend's husband scoffed that this thing is a bib and that no one would wear it, and I have to agree.

Slippery Slope Socks. The sherbet colours are pretty and the design is cool.

Spectrum Pincushion. This is a cute idea, would use up some scraps, and as a bonus, might also help its user to remember which colour schemes are analogous and which are complementary.

Spectrum Pouf. This might be a fun piece for a kid's room.

Dorchester Pullover. Very pretty -- I love the scallop stitch front panel -- but I think I would either shorten or lengthen those sleeves. That's an awkward length.

Promenade Coaster & Trivet Set. This look a little too craftsy-kitschy and grandmotherly for my tastes, but I suppose a lot would depend on how one styled one's table. A bowl of waxed fruit and an oilcloth would take these coasters in one direction, and a funky tea set and a distressed wooden table in another.

Caldecott Jacket. This is a lovely, polished piece with one distracting flaw: the front closure sits so poorly. I'd fiddle with it and perhaps add an inner fastening to make the underlying front edge sit properly and to take the stress off the outer buttons.

Orangery Shawl. This could have looked Christmas tree skirty, but it's so carefully shaped and the colourway is so well chosen that it ends up looking like quite a visually interesting and polished-looking shawl.

Hobnail Coasters. This coaster is such an inventive and skilled piece of design that it is in much less in risk of looking kitschy as the previous coasters did.

Park Lane Coaster & Trivet Set. I'm afraid we're back in waxed fruit and oilcloth territory again.

Deanery Street Centerpiece. This one is a bib for your cake plate. I don't see why a cake plate needs a bib anymore than a grown woman does.

High Tea Doily. This is a lovely piece of work, though I don't know who uses doilies for anything these days.

Interweave Knits Winter 2016: A Review

Interweave has released the Interweave Knits Winter 2016 issue, and it features a very solid, wearable collection of patterns. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Inverness Sweater. With such a classic cabled pullover, what's not to like?

Coldfield Pullover. Some nice detailing on this one. I like the mid-arm band concept.

Glasglow Sweater. The reverse stockinette on the sleeves and what looks like Shaker stitch in the body are nice touches.

Worthington Gansey. The deep waist band and the dropped shoulders give this sweater an awkward, disproportionate look, but they are easily remedied.

MacGowan Pullover. Really lovely stitchwork on this one. I love that lacy centre panel.

Shiloh Sweater. Nice stitchwork and the modified collar works really well with it.

Slean Mittens. Nice detailing on these.

Rivers Stole. Love the texture on this one. It's rather big, which won't be to everyone's liking, but you could always scale it down to whatever size you liked.

Tulle Mittens. Very pretty arrangement of cables on these mittens.

Oxford Stockings. Classic cabled socks.

Keeley Sweater. The pattern is good overall, but I think I'd want to fiddle a little with the proportions by making the body somewhat longer and decreasing the height of the cuffs and waistband slightly.

Walthall Sweater. Very much like this simple but effective sweater. The shaping is really good and the cables direct the viewer's gaze to the wearer's face.

Hoxey Cowl. This is quite pretty, and quite well styled. It's a piece that will look best with casual clothing such as this denim jacket.

Warwick Hat. A carefully worked out and finished piece. I'd nix the pom pom, but that's me.

Whitfield Cardigan. Not a fan of this one. The fair isle patterning has a rather helter skelter effect, and the dropped shoulders aren't helping. It also wouldn't be possible to fix them without changing the construction of this piece entirely, as it is knitted in one piece and steeked.

Hawkherst Sweater. Solid classic Cowichan-style piece.

Vernon Hat & Scarf. Attractive set. I like the idea of using a contrast colour for the fringe on the scarf and the ribbed band and pom pom on the cap.

Interweave Knits Fall 2015: A Review

Interweave Knits has released their Fall 2015 issue. Let's take a look at it together, shall we?

Tucker Sweater. This is the cover look, and it's a nice simple piece with good shaping and face-framing detail.

Yellow Gold Pullover. This is a nice piece too, though all the horizontal lines make it less flattering than the previous design.

Woodlake Shawl. The stitchwork in this is very well done, but the piece looks so awkward and bulky and "seventies-era homemaker magazine pattern" as a whole.

Deirdre Shawl. Lovely and polished little shawl.

Paddock Cardigan. Well-shaped and simple with just a little telling detail to keep it from being too plain.

Squall Line Shawl. Classic lace shawl.





Purple Sage Socks. This pattern has two versions: a version with plain ribs between the cables and another with lacy ribs and cables. My preference is for the plain ribs pair, but they're both good design and look very well structured.

Zigzag Wanderer. I like the stitchwork here, and the unexpected touch of the stockinette undersleeve section, but the fit and shape could definitely do with some neatening up.

Gunnislake Pullover. Oooh, this one is eye-catching and has a lot of style, and yet it's something most men would have no objections to wearing. This isn't something one sees every day in men's knitwear, so good work.

Dee Pullover. I quite like this piece on the whole, as it has good shaping and some interesting detail. But I would fix the mullet hem by making back and front equal length, and there are more attractive yarn choices for this piece. This one makes me think of mouldy fall leaves.

St. Helier Pullover. This isn't a bad piece on the whole (it's hard to go wrong with a classic Guernsey pullover), but I keep staring at that bottom hem and thinking it's placing way too much emphasis on the hips, which is really not an area any woman cares to highlight. I'd cut down the depth of the hem by omitting either the diamond section or most of the horizontal ribbing section, and adjusting the cuffs to reflect whatever I'd done with the hemline.

Bath Abbey Hat. Very clever integration of colourwork and stitchwork in this one.

Commonwealth Sweater. Nice design. It has good shaping and I like the subtle snowflake pattern.

Agrotera Pullover. This is a traditional style with a bit of a twist in its distinctive ribbed yoke. The result is lovely, and fortunately the added leather harness is optional.

Cotswold Henley. Traditional men's sweater with some added textural detailing to keep things interesting.